Ministers cap overseas donations and pause crypto

Following a review by Philip Rycroft, commissioned by Ministers late last year, the Government has taken action to mitigate foreign financial interference in UK politics. This includes a ban on crypto donations and a £100,000 cap on donations from overseas voters, both of which have come into effect immediately.

Philip Rycroft said:

This country faces a persistent problem of foreign interests seeking to exert influence on, and to interfere in, our politics. Too much of this is malign and seeks to sow distrust and exacerbate divisions in UK society, with the ultimate aim of undermining confidence in our democracy.

Foreign financial influence and interference comes in two broad domains: attempts to directly infiltrate our politics by gaining direct leverage over political parties and political process; and attempts to create division and distrust among the wider public through activity on social media and other vectors.

I am not pressing the panic button in this report; that would serve the purposes of those who would undermine the trust in our democratic processes. But I am ringing the alarm bell. If government does not act swiftly to gear up to counter these threats, there is a real risk they will run away from us.

With the Representation of the People Bill already making its way through the House of Commons, there is a ready-made vehicle for Rycroft’s recommendations to be implemented and quickly. If the Bill fully takes on board Rycroft’s recommendations, then it starts to become a far more meaningful piece of legislation. 

Other key Rycroft recommendations include:

• Greater Government prioritisation on foreign interference – including a Permanent Secretary with responsibility for responding to threats to our democracy
• More powers for the Electoral Commission to investigate and enforce the rules
• Tighten rules for online political advertising and a ban on foreign funding of adverts
• Strengthened rules on political lobbying

The APPG for Fair Elections welcomes these proposals – and calls for the Government to go further by:

• Putting a cap on all political donations – not just those from abroad.
• Establishing a National Commission on Electoral Reform to review Britain’s broken voting system.
• Taking further action to stem disinformation in election campaigns.